Cap Anson Signed Calling Card

Cap Anson calling card featuring his rare full-name signature on the reverse. The small card (3 x 2 inches) bears Anson’s name printed on the front and has been signed “Adrian C. Anson” on the reverse. Anson’s black fountain pen is somewhat uneven in strength, but contrasts quite well against the light background and grades “5/6” overall. Anson full-name signatures are exceedingly rare and this one of only five or six that we have ever seen. Cap Anson was not only one of the greatest players of the nineteenth century but also one of the most important figures in baseball history. Anson batted over .300 in twenty-four of his twenty-seven seasons and is often credited with being the first player to amass 3,000 hits. He also proved to be a fine manager, leading the Chicago White Stockings to five pennants between the years 1880 and 1886. Anson started the practice of spring training and was also the first manager to feature a platoon system. Unfortunately, one of his longest lasting legacies involved the formation of baseball’s color barrier. Anson was a racist and refused to take the field against teams with black ballplayers. Emboldened by Anson's defiant stance, other teams followed suit. Those protests resulted in the team owners adopting an unwritten agreement, often referred to as "the gentleman's agreement," to ban black players from organized baseball. That unwritten policy remained in effect until 1947. The card displays paper residue and light surface paper loss on the front from having once been mounted in an album; it is otherwise in Excellent condition. The card is accompanied by a trimmed 1889 A35 Goodwin round album page of Anson (approximately 6.5 x 6.5 inches) that would be ideal for display together with the card. LOA from James Spence/JSA. Reserve $500. Estimate $1,000/$2,000.SOLD FOR $11,162.50

(Click the smaller thumbnails to the left and right (if any) to cycle through each photo in the gallery of images for this lot.)